The Right Brother
by forensicduck
Summary: Story in which Riley and Danny are dating, but Riley starts questioning if she's with the right Wheeler brother.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The Right Brother  
Summary: It's a year after Ben and Riley were reunited, and 6 months after Danny started dating Riley. Riley is happy in her relationship, and obviously, so is the older Wheeler brother. But is it the one she wants?  
Author's Note: So I went to the Baby Daddy fanfiction site and realized that there was basically no Ben/Riley fic whatsoever. I'm about to fix that.**

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_Riley Wheeler._

It's something she often thought about. But now that it's actually come up, the words taste differently in her mouth as her boyfriend repeats the name. She knows he's joking, but there's a hint of seriousness in his voice and it kind of scares her.

Sure, she's spent years of her life dreaming about her life as a Wheeler, but she never once thought about it being the other Wheeler.

Danny's loud laugh seems far away, and her mind wanders off to a boy that has been on her mind for the past few weeks. Sometimes his good parts where the things that haunted her, like his beautiful smile, the joyful glint in his eye, or his 'no nonsense' sincerity towards her. But then those things were followed by the things that still needed some working on: he was still a kid at heart and needed to grow up too fast, he could be incredibly stubborn and he lacked ambition. And yet, whenever she listed everything and added the pros and cons about Ben Wheeler, she couldn't shake the thought that she'd love him no matter what. And it was a painful thought, because he would probably never feel the same way.

'Uh, hello? Earth to Riley?' A hand was waved in front of her and Riley blinked a few times in order to snap back into reality. 'What are you thinking about?'

Riley knew that Danny was always uncomfortable if she mentioned his younger brother, obviously because before they started dating, Danny used to be the one she talked to whenever she needed to get something off her chest about Ben. 'Uh,' she began slowly, her mind racing for an excuse that she would not find. So she decided to just tell the truth. 'I'm thinking about Ben. I'm a little worried about him.'

'Oh.' Of course Danny had to shift just an inch away from her, a feeling of uneasiness settling over him. There was not a day that went by that he didn't wonder if she still had feelings for Ben. 'Well, come on, you know Ben.' He smiled slightly and placed his arm around her, pressing her up against his chest. 'He'll be fine.'

Riley just smiled back slightly, and rested her head on his shoulder as she focused on the way his flexed muscles started to relax a bit, and the way his chest went up and down with every breath. Back in the day when they were just friends, it used to comfort her to a great extent. It still does, in a way, but it also leaves her questioning what it would be like to have another arm wrapped around her.

Danny watched as his girlfriend crinkled her nose in discomfort at the thought of Ben spending (what would be) his anniversary alone, and he heaved a heavy sigh. 'Look, if it makes you feel any better, we can go over there and give him some company.'

Her face lit up as she pushed herself off of him to look him in the eye. 'That _would_ actually make me feel better.'

'Then I guess that's what we'll do.' Danny shifts in his seat as Riley wraps her arms around him to thank him. He's not sure if he's worried about his brother, or if he's just worried about this possibly being the beginning of him losing Riley.

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**Author's Note: I think this is how it's gonna go in the actual show. I think Danny is going to confess his feelings for Riley, and he's going to act upon it, and Riley will probably end up dating him for a while. But she'll never get over her feelings for Ben and soon Ben will find out about it and fall for her. And then Ben and Riley will end up together and they'll make a whole bunch of beautiful brothers and sisters to Emma. Also Danny will fall in love with some girl and get over Riley.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I actually like the feedback I've been getting on this story so far, so here's a second chapter. I'm sorry it's so late, not doing a damn thing is one of my hobbies. Also- yes, this is one of those stories where one of the characters, in this case, Danny, is used just for the painful, unrequited love. You can hug him if you want. I want Ben.  
**

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Danny had always liked powerful women.

He doesn't know why, but he was always attracted to women who knew how to stand up for themselves. He remembered the moment he realized he was about to fall desperately in love with Riley.

She was still chubby (chubby, never fat) at the time, and she was at their house, basically spending the entire afternoon poking fun of Ben at everything he did or said, much to Ben's annoyance. Sometimes, Bonnie would come in the room and Riley would pretend like nothing was going on (but little did she know, Bonnie had a thing called 'mother's instinct' and she could tell by just looking at Ben that he was not being treated right). But, Danny was in the room, and Bonnie always told herself that Ben would be safe just as long as he was with his big brother Danny.

'You aren't seriously just here because you want to poke me in the ribs every five minutes?!' Ben whimpered, earning an eye roll from his brother. Danny had tried to man up his little brother, teach him how to grow some balls, but to no avail.

Riley laughed, and it didn't sound at all like a mean laugh to Danny. He just sat across the room, watching them scold each other back and forth, wondering if Riley would ever notice _him_. If she would ever poke _him_ in the ribs.

* * *

Back in the present…

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'Hey, come on!'

'Ouch!' Ben slumped a little as he quickly moved away from Riley's teasing finger. 'You know I hate to be poked in the rib.' He said after a moment, his eyes meeting hers. She notices the small smile on his lips and chooses not to believe what he had just told her.

'I- _we_ came here to take you out.' Riley quickly corrected herself, when her ecstatic jumps caused her to inadvertently collide with Danny's chest. There were still standing on Ben's doorstep, and Ben didn't look like he was about to let them in. But then again, it was a day that would take him a lot of time to process even the most simple things in his brain.

Like, for instance, the way Riley suddenly reached out to grab him by the arm and yank him out the door. 'Let's go, drinks on me!'

'Uh-' Danny tried interrupting her, and they made quick eye contact. Riley knew that Danny was uncomfortable with a woman paying for drinks.

'Fine. Drinks on Danny, then.'

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**Author's Note: What I'm going to try to do for the next few chapters is try to get into why Danny and Riley started dating anyway, and maybe draw Danny a little bit out of the story, so that Ben and Riley can have some alone time. Perhaps, just maybe, I'll introduce a character for Danny? Yay or nay on that?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Loving the feedback guys, keep 'em coming! **

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'Look man, I'm really sorry it didn't work out with Jenny.' Danny spoke up. They were sitting behind a table of a local restaurant, and Ben couldn't help but stare out of the window in silence.

Danny wasn't comfortable with his little brother being so gloomy. Even though he had no ambitions, Ben always seemed alive and energetic and for some reason, that gave him some hope that it would work out after all. 'It's gonna be okay.' Ben told his brother, a sad smile tugging at his lips. 'I'm just a little bummed because I thought that this was it.'

Danny nodded slowly, and the two brothers looked up as Riley joined them. She took a moment to contemplate where to sit, and when Danny gave her a small nod, she playfully nudged Ben to scoot over so she could plant herself on the seat next to him. 'Come on! You know what they say: it's got to be 5 o'clock somewhere!' She lifted up her beer and they all clanked it together before taking a sip.

'You know guys,' Ben said, the alcohol settling in his stomach. 'I appreciate that you guys are doing this for me. Thanks.' He smiled broadly and shifted to his left, letting his shoulder bump against Riley's. She was about to take a sip, so when he crashed against her, she nearly choked on her beer. 'Hey!' she shouted out, needing a minute to recover herself.

Ben didn't respond to her protest, but instead, shrugged and offer Danny an innocent look. From his side, Danny could only force a smile. He's seen the look on Riley's face before. She's playful and teasing, it's the same look she had when they first started dating. Her laughs were loud and Ben finally managed to chuckle. Danny tried to pay attention, or at least focus on his drink, but their laughs started to fade and his mind travelled back to the day Riley and him 'got together'.

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'We're going to take this slow, right? We don't know for sure if this is going to work out.' Riley breathed, using a firm grip on his shoulders in order to keep him at a safe distance.

Danny nodded quickly, wanting nothing but to kiss her in that moment, to hold her and maybe convince himself that she was going to be with him forever. But what lead them to this was really only her hurt over Ben, and he told himself that he shouldn't do it. But he was light-headed due to the alcohol running through his veins, and his brain just couldn't get a hold of his sanity. 'All I know is that I'm crazy about you, Riley.'

Riley removed one of her hands from his shoulder to place it on the side of his cheek, forcing him to look into her eyes. There was uncertainty in his eyes, and it matched how she was feeling. There was nothing in this world that told her this was the right thing to do. 'I know.'

She thought about walking away, so that they could forget all about this. But then she thought about Ben. About how he wanted to talk to her about something 'drastic', to quote him. Something inside of her stirred. Her heart jumped and felt like beating out of her chest. What a fool was she to think it as about her.

'I want to propose to Jenny.' Ben had told her, and Riley recalled how she felt like he had just reached inside of her to yank out her heart and rip it to shreds. Ben was just so _damn_ oblivious. Or maybe he wasn't, and he just didn't care about her at all. Whatever it was, it was painful.

So when Ben had left that night to find Jenny, Riley had slipped into a corner of a room, tears running over her cheeks. She didn't know why she was this upset, there was no one else that could get her in such a weak position such as this.

'Riley? Are you in here?' Danny's voice was soft and gentle, as opposed to his appearance. He truly was the exact opposite of what people thought he was. He was kind and loving, and when he found her that night, he told her something that she never expected to hear from him. He told her about how he felt, about how he thought she needed to be treated. He told her that Ben was never the bad guy in all of this. He was just at a point in his life where he needed to figure out where he stood and Riley could dance like a monkey in front of his very eyes, and he still wouldn't see her.

Danny had told her that he wanted to treat her right, if she could offer him the chance. He placed one of her hands into his and helped her stand up so she could meet his promising eyes and the little dimple in his cheeks as he smiled at her. 'Do you want to give me the chance?' It was a simple question with so much to offer.

And now, they found themselves standing at a crossroads. Danny left it all up to Riley. She knew that if she chose to be with him, he would do anything to make her happy. But would being with him make her happy? He was perfectly capable of helping her pick up her slivers of her heart and glue them all back together. He was a true friend to her and loyal to the end.

'I guess we could give it a shot.'

Her words weren't exactly the ones Danny was hoping for. They were not what he had heard in all those cheesy rom-coms his mother used to watch, but they were the best he could do at the moment, so he just grinned, trying to flush away this wave of insecurity that came with her words. He opened his arms and she leaned into his touch, the two of them hugging with wandering minds. He hoped that one day, she would fall for him the way he fell for her. And she hoped the same thing.

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**Author's Note: Not enough Ben/Riley, I know! But now I've got the Danny/Riley covered, I'm gonna try and see if I can get Danny out of the story a little bit. If I feel like it, I'll introduce his love interest in the next chapter, or else it'll be after that.**


End file.
